Forgotten Memories
by Candy1004104
Summary: The boy collapsed right under the huge, red arch. Kotetsu kneeled and examined the boy, then turned around and locked eyes with Izumo. The three swirling dots were easy to recognize: The Curse Seal of Heaven
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello there! My what, 5th story? Thanks to everyone who read my other stories so that I actually wanted to write another one! Special thanks to Roo17 and CuteLikeMomiji! ^.^  
This story is takes place during/after the 3-year time skip. I think that I might be able to make this story into a substitute for the events I'll be overlapping in shippuden. Maybe. I don't know, I don't see this story ending anytime soon. Unless I update every day, but I think I'll still need a while... Enjoy reading!  
****Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Forgotten Memories**

**Chapter 1**

"How is our little pet doing?" Orochimaru questioned Kabuto in his snake-like, hissing voice.

Kabuto cringed slightly at the word _pet, _even though he thought he should be used to Orochimaru's unusual behaviour by now. Kabuto checked his computer moniters and examined the person on the white hospital bed next to him. "I don't think this is going to work. His body is rejecting it. It hasn't even adjusted to the second stage of the curse seal yet."

Orochimaru sighed and looked deeply disappointed. That meant he couldn't inhabit Sasuke's body and use it to it's full potential. What a waste. "Dispose of him."

Thank goodness Kabuto knew what to do just by those three simple words. It was exhausting to have to explain everytime to wipe someone's memory and send them somewhere where they couldn't interfere. "Cut and dye his hair while you're at it. His stupid hairstyle is too recognizable." Last time Orochimaru sent one of his failed experiments away, she had been picked up by Konoha ninja and asked for any information about himself. He didn't want that to happen again.

He left Kabuto and the dark cavern and paced the gloomy hallways. Why did his secret lairs have to be so ominous? One day, he would decorate these tunnels with lava lamps and cover the ceilings with disco balls.

* * *

While Sasuke was still unconscious, Kabuto shifted the hospital bed into an upright position until it looked like an awkward chair with an extension to rest your feet on. He folded the top part of bed/chair so that he could access Sasuke's hair. This was going to be fun! Kabuto never got to unleash his creative side! Atleast not on something as harmless as hair. On the other hand, there was that jutsu Jiraiya could do with his hair... Maybe hair wasn't so harmless.

Shaking off that thought, Kabuto got out his medical scalpel that he would be using as scissors. He attempted to comb Sasuke's hair down. Hmm. That didn't work. Kabuto poured water on Sasuke's head and let it drip down. His hair was still sticking out. Gel, maybe? Kabuto completely covered the back of Sasuke's head with gel that always had "Lasts for 24 hours! Extra-strong!" on the tag, then smoothed it down as he attempted to get Sasuke's hair to get down. The only result was that Sasuke's hair became spiky, stiff, and even harder to move. What's wrong with this kid's hair? How the heck does it stay like that?

After much desperation and thought, Kabuto finally found the answer to his problem. He was trying to get the hair down, when it would be so much easier to get the rest of the hair to point the same direction. Now all Kabuto had to do was gel the rest of the hair to get it to stick up, dye Sasuke's hair, then put some of his own personal concoction all over it. This special gel would keep the hair in it's position as if it was always naturally like that. He was such a genius! And, who knows, maybe someone would have thought Sasuke looked like Itachi with his hair down and told their suspicions to ANBU, or worse, the Hokage? Yes, this strategy was making two cranes with one piece of paper. Why hadn't he thought of this in the first place?

* * *

Sasuke had his suspicions of Kabuto and Orochimaru, and they were only increased by the simple mission Kabuto had just given him. It's only been 2 months since he had escaped from Konoha, and they had just experimented on him by trying a third stage of the curse seal. He only got out of that stiff bed a short hour ago, after Kabuto had given him one last needle. Why would he go back to Konoha, even to test his new powers? Why couldn't he just stay here and test it on one of the prisoners Orochimaru always had locked away?

But it wasn't like he had a choice. He still wasn't powerful enough to fight against Orochimaru. He hated that disgusting snake man and his revolting jutsus. He would kill him as soon as he had a good enough chance. But that wouldn't be for a while. For now, he had to do what that reptile said.

* * *

"Konoha's that way." Kabuto stood on the road and pointed the right direction. "Take your time getting there, because you haven't worked out the kinks in your body yet, but hurry back here."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at Kabuto. Take his time? When had Orochimaru ever allowed somebody to take his time if he could get it done A.S.A.P.? And "_kinks"_? Kabuto had clearly hung around Orochimaru way too long and picked up his odd, occasionally childish, vocabulary. But he decided not to voice his opinions. Truthfully, he _was _feeling a bit sore and it would be nice not to rush to get to Konoha. It wasn't like he wanted to go there anyways.

So Sasuke went on his way down the road calmly and coolly, with his shiny hair and his expressionless face. Kabuto wondered how he did that and not expect to have girls fawning helplessly over him.

As Sasuke traveled further and further away, he began to forget things. _No, that's impossible. _He thought to himself. _This was always my natural hair style, not a weird side effect from the third stage of the curse seal. Wait, what third stage? What was a curse seal?_

When Sasuke forgot where he was going, he began to get worried. He should atleast know where he was going, shouldn't he? But he knew where he was going. He was going nowhere in particular. He had always been on this road. He foraged for food in the woods that ran by the road, ate, slept, then continued down the path. That was what he had always done. It was a simple life style.

_No, I had done something before this, _Sasuke argued with himself. _I had a family. Father, Mother, and Itachi._

Then a horrifying thought crossed his mind. What if he forgot Itachi? He could not let that happen. He would not forget his sole purpose. From trying to surpass him to attempting to impress him to training to murder him, Itachi had always been at the center of Sasuke's world.

Sasuke continued on the trail, repeating Itachi's name to himself. Sasuke Uchiha would not forget.

* * *

Four days later, Izumo and Kotetsu were supervising the entrance to Konoha lazily, when they noticed a boy walking wearily towards the gate. He had pale sapphire-coloured hair that was sticking out at a 45 degree angle away from his face. He looked at the world with crow-black eyes.

"Who are you?" Izumo demanded, instantly alert. This tired-looking kid could be faking. He could be dangerous.

But the boy collapsed right under the huge, red arch and continued muttering something he had been repeating to himself long before Izumo had said a single word.

"Ichita. Ichita. Ichita..."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yay reviews! Yes, I realize the disco balls and lava lamps were a bit random, but I couldn't stop myself. Be ready for more random things in this chapter and in the ones to come...  
****I feel like the hair scene in the last chapter was a bit rushed, but hopefully it wasn't that bad. ^.^****  
****Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**Forgotten Memories**

**Chapter 2**

Izumo didn't know what to make of the situation. He was panicking, even though that was one of the things a ninja should never do. There was a strange boy with even stranger hair lying on the ground. Normally this wouldn't be a problem. Even genin could handle something like this, but the boy had a dark tattoo on his neck, a design that looked very similar to the Sharingan. Alarming, at least. The Uchiha clan was murdered. One of the two remaining Uchiha's was an S-class missing nin, and the other wasn't so far behind. What could this disturbing tattoo mean?

"Take him to the Hokage." Kotetsu's voice broke through their frightening thoughts. "I'll watch over the gate."

Izumo simply nodded, then lifted the boy up in his arms and dashed to the Hokage's office.

* * *

Tsunade sharply drew in her breath. Then she let it out by yelling at Izumo.

"What do you mean a tattoo resembling the Sharingan?" She demanded.

"It's t-there..." Izumo stuttered. He hurriedly laid the boy down on the table and indicated the three dots on his neck. "See?"

Tsunade simply glared at the mark, while Izumo looked around desperately for an escape route. Women are so scary when they're angry!

"Get Kakashi and Anko over here. Now!" She barked orders at him.

"Yes Maam!" And he leapt through an open window.

After a few moments of silence, Tsunade finally sat down and bit her long thumbnail in frustration. Why was Orochimaru making her job so hard? As Hokage, she had had to rebuild the village, prepare for any potential attacks from other Hidden Villages, get help from Suna to protect a few specific genin, and clean up Sasuke's mess. Now, just as she finished doing all that, she ends up with one of his... rejects.

6 minutes later, Anko came bursting in, shattering the closed window she had entered through. She scanned the room, then narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the boy sprawled on the desk. What the heck?

Kakashi poofed into the room right after, looking very alert. Turns out that even Kakashi could come on time if it was important.

Tsunade gestured at them in a way that clearly meant "get over here right now".

"I'm sure you both remember something that looked similar to this." Tsunade angrily jabbed her finger at the 3 circles, each of which was sprouting two spikes. Anko immediately stiffened at the sight, instinctively clutching her own curse seal.

"And?"

"I was hoping for your opinion on what we should do with this... kid." Tsunade replied, nudging the boy slightly.

"Do you even need to ask?" Anko laughed bitterly, "Interrogate him, then find out whether he's a threat or not."

Tsunade nodded, then turned to Kakashi.

"If he is a threat, dispose of him. If not, keep him and watch him." Kakashi advised, silently agreeing with Anko.

Tsunade nodded more. "Good. I would've been disappointed if you came up with anything less."

Anko smirked while Kakashi struggled to not look exasperated. Why did everything you do for the Hokage end up being a test of some sort?

"On the other hand... Kakashi. What if I told you that this boy was discovered repeating the name 'Ichita' over and over again? What would you do with him now?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him while he digested what she had said. Ichita was remarkably similar to a certain Uchiha's name. A certain Uchiha whose brother had a curse seal.

"Interrogate him, then moniter him at all times. It's a possibility that..." He trailed off.

Tsunade smiled mischeivously, then shouted at the door. "Shizune! I know you're out there! Get in here!"

Shizune came in and shakily closed the door. "I w-wasn't eavesdropping. I just h-happened to over hear-"

The Hokage laughed. "If you would take the boy to hospital and tell Ibiki to _talk_ with him as soon as the boy's conscious."

"Yes!" Shizune took the boy into the hallway and called for Izumo, who had, no doubt, spied on the Hokage with her.

* * *

Sasuke woke up in a clean room with various pieces of medical equipment and several identical beds. Sitting on a chair right beside his own bed was a intimidating-looking man, with two long scars slanting across his face.

Sasuke sat up and turned toward Ibiki. "Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" A roughened voice growled back.

"I'm..." Sasuke started, then looked confused. That was actually a good question. "I don't know."

"I don't know is a stupid name." Ibiki sneered.

"No, I just don't-"

"_I_ just don't care that you don't know."

"But then why-" A kunai came zipping at Sasuke's gravity-defying hair. It hit, but failed to cut a single strand. Interesting. "What was that for?"

Ibiki held another kunai. "Who is Ichita? Why are you here and where do you come from? Talk, or else."

Sasuke shivered. "Ichita? Ichita is..." He thought hard, started to say something, then shut his mouth. "But how do you know about him?"

"Ichita? Who the heck is that? Never heard of him!" Ibiki laughed wildly. "However." Ibiki suddenly stopped laughing and looked deadly serious. "You're hiding something about this Ichita person."

Sasuke swallowed. This guy was so unpredictable it was driving him crazy. "Ichita is... family. Main purpose in life. Always center. World. Won't forget." He simply said the first words that came into mind and hoped it was good enough.

"What happened to your grammar, man?" Ibiki asked in a more joking voice. "So, why the heck are you here? What clever family finally figured out they didn't want you anymore?"

"I'm just... here." Sasuke gritted his teeth. "And I don't have a family."

"But you just said Ichita is family."

"Yeah well-"

"You're a liar then!" Ibiki accused, looking very murderous. Then he switched again. "Liar liar, pants on fire! Your nose is longer than a telephone wire!"

Sasuke pinched himself. Surely this was just a dream. Or was he really talking to this mad man?

* * *

"How was it, Ibiki?" Tsunade asked.

"I think the boy had lost his memory. He doesn't even know his own name, but he remembers this Ichita, who is apparently 'family' and his 'main purpose in life'. It's very possible that it could be Sasuke Uchiha, but we can't know for sure. For now, we need a qualified ninja to watch over him."

"Good. I know just who."

Ibiki simply disappeared from the room.

"Shizune, if you could Anko and Kakashi back in here?"

"Yes!"

"No spying!" Tsunade smiled playfully.

Shizune shivered, and left the office.

Only to bump into the two as soon as she turned around. "Ai-eee!"

Tsunade proceeded to laugh her head off, along with Anko, as Shizune unfroze and escaped from the room.

Anko was, of course, eating dango while Kakashi had one of his hands in his back pocket which could only mean he had Jiraiya's disgusting books with him.

Tsunade scowled as her train of thought went from Jiraiya to Orochimaru and then back to the task at hand. "The boy apparently has amnesia, and only remembers 'Ichita'. The easiest way to watch over him would be if a jonin adopted him as a son. So?"

"I'll do it, Tsunade. Not that I'd ever want to, but the boy might go crazy if exposed to Kakashi's... hobby." Anko volunteered, as she grabbed Kakashi's hand which had been grasping the book, revealing it to Tsunade even though she already knew about it.

"Makes sense. However, I will be assigning him to your team Kakashi, so that you can still watch over him. Sasuke and Naruto aren't here anyways, so it's not like your team will be going on any missions. Until Naruto comes back, you can find out the boy's abilities."

"Sure."

"Can we give this kid a name? I'm really tired of hearing 'boy'." Anko complained.

"Do you think the boy would accept the name 'Ichita' for himself?" Kakashi wondered aloud.

"Might as well give it a shot."

Shizune made a timely re-appearance with the boy at her side.

"Hey there! Your name is Ichita from now on, and I'm officially your new mom!" Anko slung her arm around his shoulders.

Sasuke looked around warily. He really hoped this village wasn't full of insane people.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey there! Sorry for the wait! I had writer's block...  
Yeah, I know that Ibiki was acting a bit... crazy in the last chapter, but that will be explained... Maybe... Just call it an interrogation technique for now...  
****Ok, about Japanese suffixes (like -san and -chan and -kun and -sensei and all that)... I usually don't use them because I don't fully understand those yet and I'm afraid that I'll use them incorrectly. So for now, I'll only be using -sensei because it sounds really weird when they don't use that one...****  
****Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or any other manga/anime.**

* * *

**Forgotten Memories**

**Chapter 3**

In a house in Konoha, Sasuke (now known as Ichita, but we'll just call him Sasuke) was lying down on his bed. Today he would be training with the lazy guy whose face was almost completely covered by that mysterious mask, and a pink-haired girl named Sakura. He heard that this Sakura girl had light pink hair. Did she dye her hair because of her name? Or maybe her parents named her Sakura because the colour of her hair was naturally pink? He wondered whether the parents had pink hair. _Probably not. It would be funny if the dad had pink hair though._

"Ichita!" Anko's voice broke through Sasuke's thoughts. "Get down here!" No response. "I'll impale you with a dango stick! Then I'll feed you to my lovely snakes!" Anko threatened happily.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked innocently, and considering that he had no memories of his past, he was actually pretty innocent.

"Training with your new team starts in 5 minutes, and if you don't get there, Kakashi will be very angry! Kakashi always comes early, so if you're late even by 1 minute, you're in big trouble!" Anko sang. Sasuke heard a strange muffled sound. What was it?

Downstairs, Anko tried to hide her snickering. _Too bad that kid ended up with a foster mother like me._ Anko thought to herself. She wondered why she had volunteered to take in the brat. _Oh, right. 'Cause Kakashi was the only other choice. Don't want the kid to traumatized by Kakashi's hobby._

Sasuke came running downstairs. "5 minutes! Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

"Lost track of time." Anko turned around to polish her tea sets so she could smile in peace. "You'll have to sprint all the way to the bridge to get there on time, and you can't eat while you're running that fast or you'll choke, so no breakfast." Really too bad that the kid ended up with Anko.

"As long as I don't get on Kakashi-sensei's bad side, I'm good." Sasuke muttered to himself as he darted out the door.

* * *

At the wooden bridge, Sakura was already waiting, looking bored but mostly impatient. When she saw Sasuke her expression changed into one of curiosity though, as she stared at his hair.

"Wow, I've never met another person with a weird hair colour like me! Well, except for Kakashi-sensei but gray's not that weird of a hair colour... Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Sakura, and you must be Ichita! I hope we can be friends." Sakura beamed at him.

Sasuke smiled back at her. "Me too."

"Good, because you really don't want to be on my bad side." Sakura grinned at him again, but there was something more menacing about this one.

What did Sasuke expect? He was in a ninja village after all.

"Thanks for the advice... Umm... When does Kakashi-sensei arrive?"

Sakura made a annoyed face. "You never know. Except that he never comes on time. Sometimes I wonder why I always come on time when he never does. No doubt he'll have some lame excuse too."

"But Anko always said that Kakashi-sensei would come on time..."

"Anko? Don't tell me you actually trusted her. You did? Sorry, I keep forgetting that you're not from this village."

"Who told you that?" Sasuke asked, alarmed.

"Well, I've definitely never seen you around before, and I think I would remember someone like you." Sasuke noticed Sakura's bright green eyes look above his head as she spoke. "Plus the fact that you're staying with Anko, who is a jonin and horrible with kids, you're being put on my team without even going to the ninja academy first." Sakura added, clearly pleased with her reasoning.

Sasuke stared at her. Had she thought about this morning? He'd only been in the village for 2 or 3 days now! When did she have the time to figure this out?

Sakura, offended at Sasuke's obviously bewildered look, punched him in the arm. Several times. "Girls can think too! Girls are actually way smarter than boys, especially sexist ones like you!"

"S-sorry..." Sasuke stammered, terrified at the now-vicious teammate.

"Sorry? Look at you 'men', all cowards! Trembling at the first sight of an-" Fingers appeared behind Sakura's head, followed by a partly gloved hand. They crept closer and suddenly clamped Sakura's loud mouth shut. Then a figure was revealed, crouching on bridge railing.

"Now now, Sakura. No need to scare our new team member. Teamwork!"

Sakura ripped off Kakashi's hand. "Teamwork! You keep the team waiting doing whatever you selflishly do, and then come here LATE and tell us to co-operate and use TEAMWORK?"

Kakashi turned towards Sasuke. "What did you do? I haven't seen Sakura this angry in a while."

"I d-don't know! She just started screaming about how girls are smarter than boys..."

"Don't ever question Sakura's intelligence. She's lost faith in her physical abilities and relies on her mind now."

Sasuke would've raised his eyebrows if he wasn't so scared. When she hit him it didn't feel like she was weak.

"Anyways! Guess what our mission is today!" Kakashi's eyes closed and from the way they curved you had a feeling he was smiling. "We're going to give this newcomer here a tour of the village and let him meet the other rookies! But first, Ichita, how do you plan on introducing yourself?"

"Hi, I'm new, and my name's Ichita...?" Sasuke said, his uncertainty transforming the sentence into a question.

"No that won't work. We can't let them know you're not from the village."

Sakura thought for a moment using her (*cough*) superior mind to think of a solution. "What if we say that he's a replacement for Naruto, or..." Sakura's eyes welled up with tears for a split second, then she appeared fine again. "For Naruto, sent from the Hokage. There's a lot of ninja in the village that the genin don't know the faces of."

"Who's Naruto?"

"We'll tell you that later, I'm sure that the others will give you some idea of who he is," Kakashi said impatiently, "But right now we have our mission to complete!"

"Hai!" Sakura almost saluted.

"H-hai." Sasuke repeated uncertainly.

"Let's go."

* * *

Their first stop was a barbeque restaurant. Sasuke looked at the restaurant, puzzled.

"Asuma's team should be here." Kakashi answered, as if that would explain everything. Who was Asuma, and why would his team be here and not training (they're _ninja, _aren't they)?

They entered and a waitress (probably the owner's daughter or something) went to find them a table when Sakura quickly said, "We're looking for a group of 3 or 4 people with a... _chubby_ boy who eats a lot, a lazy boy with pineapple hair, and a beauty queen." Sakura whispered to Sasuke afterward that "those descriptions are the ones that best fit Asuma's team."

The waitress immediately knew who Sakura was talking about at once, and let them to Team 10's table.

"Hey, look it's Sakura and Kakashi!" Ino saw them first, as Shikamaru was half-asleep and Choji was focused on eating. "And who's _that?"_

"This is Ichita, a replacement for Naruto while he's away training with Jiraiya. Ichita, this is Ino, my best friend." A silent conversation passed between Ino and Sakura at that moment that only Kakashi might've noticed.

_No replacement for Sasuke?_

Sakura shook her head so slightly it was almost unnoticeable. _Nope._

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. Ino was pretty. Really pretty. "Hey there." He lifted his hand as if to wave, then awkwardly put it down again.

Ino giggled. Sakura glared, then turned to Shikamaru, who was trying very hard to ignore them. "Shikamaru, introduce yourself."

Shikamaru's peaceful sleeping expression was broken by the annoyance on his face. "Too troublesome. I'm trying to sleep here."

Ino slammed a fist into his head and got him into a headlock. "It's ok, Sakura, just introduce Shikamaru yourself."

Before Sakura said anything, Sasuke leaned over and whispered in Kakashi's ear. "Are all the girls this scary?" Kakashi thought of Anko, and Tsunade. He nodded. Sasuke paled, then Sakura started.

"This is Shikamaru, the laziest chuunin you'll ever meet. And that guy hogging all the pork is Choji." Sakura zipped to Sasuke's ear and hissed, "Don't _ever_ call him fat. Just call him chubby."

"But he is fa-" Sasuke protested when Sakura, Ino, and Shikamaru all hurried to shut his mouth. "SHUT UP!" Kakashi stole this moment to sneak away and go read his preverted books.

"Did some one say fat?" Choji finally looked up from his food and you could almost see fire blazing in his eyes.

"No no no no!" Ino panicked. "Choji, this is Ichita, Sakura's new teammate. He was saying that you are... fabulous! Yeah, fabulous!"

Both Sakura and Shikamaru rolled their eyes, which Shikamaru closed afterwards in an attempt to catch up on the sleep he never lost.

"Oh! Want some BBQ Pork, Ichita?" Choji offered a greasy slice while Ino looked at it with disgust.

"No! No, I'm fine." Sasuke rushed to say.

Choji didn't even look disappointed. "Ok then! All the more for me!"

"We should go now, shouldn't we, Kakashi-sensei? There are more teams- Where'd he go!" Sakura turned around to find Kakashi had already gone.

"He left a while ago, didn't you notice?" Ino teased.

"The hell! I'm going to track him down, and if he's reading that stupid little book I am going to kill him!"

"Uh, Sakura? Do we have to find Kakashi-sensei? Can't we just go meet other teams or whatever?" Sasuke asked nervously.

"Yeah, he can come with me! I can show him around! You just go and kill your sensei!" Ino suggested happily.

Sakura's eyes darted suspiciously between the two before leaving. "Hmph."

* * *

"Hey Kiba! Hinata!" Ino jumped and waved her arms at them so frantically you could've thought there was an emergency. "I want you to meet someone!"

Kiba and Hinata were playing with Akamaru, who still had bandages wrapped around him from trying to retrieve Sasuke. They looked up, and sighed when they realized it was Ino. Ino wasn't really the closest with these two, who sometimes found her annoying, although Hinata would never admit it.

"This is Ichita, and he's Sakura's new teammate! Say hi, Ichita!"

"Hi..." Sasuke said.

"Good boy!" Ino patted him on the head.

"I'm not a dog." Sasuke grumbled, before he noticed Akamaru on the grass, staring at him. "No offense, uh..."

"His name's Akamaru." Kiba and Ino said simultaneously.

"Jinx!" Kiba and Ino shouted again. Sasuke and Hinata simply stared at them.

"Jinx!"

"Jinx!"

"Jinx!"

"Jinx!"

"Jinx!" Kiba said faster this time.

"Jinx- Hey! No fair!" Ino complained.

"Yeah! You owe me... 4 glasses of bubble tea now!"

"Whatever. Anyways, Ichita is supposed to be replacing Naruto."

"Naruto, that silly kid? I have to say, it's an improvement." Kiba joked, grinning at Sasuke, exposing his pointy teeth.

"Kiba, it's n-not nice to say such th-th-things." Hinata almost scolded him.

"Yeah yeah, Naruto is very determined, and he will make a fine Hokage and all that. You don't need to tell me everyday Hinata."

Hinata blushed while Ino glared at Kiba and Sasuke just stood awkwardly. He had a feeling that nobody really cared he was here. I mean, they've known each other for who knows how long, and he'd just been here a few days.

"Anyways, where's Shino?" Ino abrubtly questioned them.

"I think he's l-looking for b-bugs out there." Hinata pointed at the forest to their left.

"Sounds like Shino." Ino sighed, then took Sasuke's arm and dragged him into the trees.

"Hey Shino!" Ino called.

A boy materialized on top of a thick tree branch, surrounded by a swarm of his beloved insects. He wore a pale aqua-coloured jacket, with the collar blocking part of his face from view. He wore sunglasses, despite the shade the trees provided.

"This is Sakura's new teammate!"

"Hello, my name is Ichita." Sasuke said. It sounded a little formal, but it seemed the appropriate greeting for someone like Shino.

"I assume you're not from this village?"

"I don't know. I don't remember..."

"Well, we really have to go. See you Shino!" Ino pushed Sasuke out of the forest, then pulled him along the road to find that group of crazy people called Team Guy.

* * *

When Sasuke and Ino stumbled upon Team Guy training, they discovered that Lee had just made a very epic proclamation. They knew because Lee and Guy were having one of those shining-crying-eyes-sparkling-teeth-power-of-youth moments, and TenTen and Neji were staring ahead with glazed eyes.

Sasuke lifted a finger towards them and whispered, "Is that normal?"

"For them it is." Ino answered quietly, not wanting to ruin the mood even though she continued to whine about their odd behaivour. "I really don't know why this village is filled with so many freaks."

Ino suddenly burst into the training ground so they could see, and she tugged on Sasuke's arm until he came tumbling into sight too. "Hey guys! Sorry to interrupt but I'm here to introduce Ichita!" Ino held her arms out towards Sasuke, like one of those game show ladies.

Sasuke coughed from where he was still sitting on the ground, then smiled weakly at them. "Umm... Hi?"

Neji narrowed his eyes at him, TenTen smiled back at him, while Lee and Guy looked at him as if judging him.

"Ichita, you must learn to stoke the Flames of Youth within you! You are in the Springtime of your Youth and yet you act so..." Lee and Guy acted old, withered, and depressed to get their point across.

"You must harness the Flames of Youth and become youthful and strong!" Guy declared.

"Yosh!" Lee agreed.

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

As their chorus continued, Neji announced, "I bet they'll continue on for atleast an hour if no one stops them."

"I bet not." Sasuke challenged. Neji simply smirked. "Deal. If I win, you have to act like Lee for the rest of the day."

"If I win... Umm..." Sasuke thought of a punishment.

Ino and TenTen whispered to each other for a few seconds, nodded, then whispered to Sasuke.

"If I win, you have to cut your hair short!"

* * *

_Damn._ Sasuke cursed as he made his way home. He burst into the house shouting, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

Anko turned around to notice chunks of the broken door on the ground.

"ANKO! YOU ARE LOOKING SO YOUTHFUL TODAY! I WILL BE TRAINING IN MY ROOM TO TRY TO HARNESS THE FLAMES OF YOUTH LIKE GUY-SENSEI TOLD ME!" Sasuke skipped girlishly up the stairs, full of... "youthfullness".

Anko proceeded to grab a butcher knife from the counter and stalked out the door, searching for Guy. No foster son of hers would be a "Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha"!


	4. Chapter 4

****

**A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner! I kinda ran out of stuff to write... But now that this chapter is out of the way I think I'll be fine!  
I also realize this is slowly becoming more a of a humour story than anything else. I guess I just like things like that to happen. Thanks to CuteLikeMomiji for helping with Guy. You'll find out later...  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Forgotten Memories

Chapter 4

_He looked into his own swirling red eyes, staring at him from a weary looking face. Dressed in his ANBU uniform, black hair in a short ponytail, necklace hanging around his neck. Weapon pouch, check. Katana, check. Only one thing left to do. He put on his headband, and light bounced off of the metal harshly, as if the headband was angry for what he was about to do. He took his kunai and very slowly, slashed the Konoha symbol right through the middle. His eyes glowed._

"Holy freaking crap!" Sasuke jumped up from his bed. He looked around, confused. Where was he? Who was he again? Then he remembered yesterday, and groaned loudly into his pillow. Acting like Lee was TORTURE! Especially when he got to the training part. And the teary moments with Guy that seemed to happen every 5 minutes. Ugh!

Sasuke checked his alarm clock. 7:00 A.M. He didn't plan on waking this early, but it wasn't that bad. And Anko should still be sleeping at this time. He crept downstairs and opened the fridge. He pulled out a container, which seemed to be filled with mint, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream. He searched for a spoon, then finally scooped up the icy treat.

"What the heck is this?" Sasuke spit out the disgusting tasting ice cream. He read the label. _Prank Ice Cream! Offer some to your friends, then watch as they taste the dango-flavoured Ice Cream!_

* * *

"Today we will be testing our chakra affinities." Kakashi showed Sakura and Sasuke the thin papers, after the two genin shouted at their sensei for being late again. "it's a little hard, but don't panic. It doesn't hurt."

"Kakashi-sensei, you're talking like we're testing our blood type." Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyways..."

"I already know my chakra affinity." Sakura interrupted.

Kakashi sighed. "Train with Tsunade then." He waved her off.

"Ok!" Sakura quickly got out of there, really tired of being the only girl in the group. She would go to Ino afterwards, and they could complain together.

"Yeah, off you go." Kakashi muttered. "All you have to do is try to put your chakra into this paper, like so." Kakashi raised his voice, and demonstrated, his paper crumpling up. "I have a Lightning affinity. Now your turn."

Sasuke put the paper between both of his hands, and concentrated. The chakra came surprisingly easily, considering he didn't know how to use it. He visualized blue energy flowing through his arms. The paper lit on fire, then immediately dissolved into ash. He stared at his blackened hands, then up at Kakashi. "I did it!"

But Kakashi's eyes only narrowed. "Try again." Kakashi held out the paper.

It had the same result, and Sasuke's hands got darker. He looked questioningly at Kakashi. "Again." Came the response. "Hold it with only two fingers this time."

Sasuke focused the chakra into his hand, and the two watched as the paper crumpled before burning. "What does that mean?"

"You have a Fire affinity, and a Lightning one too." Kakashi's eye just kept getting more and more narrow.

Sasuke failed to notice. "Oh cool! So I have the same affinity as you then! Teach me some stuff!"

"Ok. I'll teach you some 'stuff'." Kakashi's eye twiched. "Try this." Kakashi made 11 different seals, forming them so rapidly that Sasuke couldn't tell what the hand seals were, then grabbed his right arm with his left hand, and a high chirping sound could be heard. Sasuke's eyes widened as he observed blue lightning appearing in Kakashi's hand. "Chidori!" Kakashi sprinted forward in a straight line, slamming his hand into a tree nearby. He turned around after the lightning and the chirping died down. "That 'stuff' is called jutsu."

Sasuke faltered. "Can you teach me some then? An easy one?"

Kakashi thought for a moment. "How about this one?" His hand became cloaked in spiky, gold light, and when he seemed to whip his hand at the remains of the tree, a lightning bolt from his hand shot at it. "You have to flick your hand at the item in particular, or you can point using a finger. I don't recommend pointing though. If you forget to put that finger down, you'll destroy everything around you."

Sasuke gathered his chakra together at his hand again. His affinity changed it into fire though, instead of lightning, and the light was red. When he snapped his hand at another tree, a flame detached from the fiery light, extended towards the tree, and erupted in a fireball. "Cool."

Kakashi observed, then had a little test, preforming the jutsu again, this time saying, "Katon: Elemental Hand." and it became like Sasuke's.

Sasuke's Elemental Hand died out and he looked at Kakashi. "How do I do the lightning one?" Sasuke demanded.

Kakashi simply let his jutsu die out then started again. "Raiton: Elemental Hand."

Sasuke repeated after Kakashi, and soon his light was yellow too. "What are the names for the other elements?"

* * *

That day, when Team Guy had a training session scheduled (Guy and Lee had missed their training session that morning), a stranger went to meet the 3 genin.

Spikes of bright orange and leaf green hair ascended along the middle of his scalp, while the sides of his head were shaved. He had strange eyebrows that looked like orange/green catapillars resting above his eyes.

TenTen pulled out one of her huge scrolls while Neji and Lee settled into their own different fighting stances.

The stranger looked alarmed, then greeted them in a very loud, familiar voice. "Neji! TenTen! Lee! Act more youthful while you are still in the Springtime of your Youth!" He flung his arms into the air.

When TenTen realized that the stranger was her sensei, she fainted, screaming, "Guy-sensei has a MOHAWK!"

Neji fled into the trees, the leaves protecting anyone from seeing him barf. _I thought the last hairstyle was bad..._

Lee just stared in complete shock. Finally, dragging Guy, he promptly went to find a hair salonist so he could emulate his beloved sensei.

* * *

"Today, Sakura, you will be tracking down Guy." When Sakura looked at her with confusion, Tsunade grabbed a note off her desk, cleared her throat, then read it out loud. "_I had been training with Lee, improving his taijutsu and his youthfulness," _Both of them rolled their eyes at the word. "Maybe it'll be better if I gave you a summary." Tsunade scanned the note. "Some woman attacked Guy and then changed his 'youthful style'. Your job is to return Guy back to his usual self, maybe even make him normal. Here, take the note with you." Tsunade handed her the paper, and Sakura quickly read it.

_"_Oh my gosh." Sakura stared in shock.

"What?"

"Guy is weirder than I thought."

* * *

Sakura was making her way to the training grounds where she thought Guy would most likely be. She only found Ten Ten rocking back and forth while sharpening a kunai, and Neji who was smashing his head against a tree trunk. She assumed he had added a layer of chakra over his forehead, because he didn't appear to be hurt at all while a hole in the tree got more distinctive each time they connected.

"Uh... What the heck happened here?"

Neji moaned, accenting each word with a head-butt to the tree. "Guy-sensei... His HAIR..."

TenTen crawled over to Sakura. "Save us! Save us, Sakura, before it's too late!"

"Ok..." Sakura stared at them.

"Lee... Lee's gonna become like guy-sensei! And then we will be DOOMED!"

_Hair? Lee become like Guy...? I thought they were already alike? Except..._ Sakura remembered the letter from Guy, which said his "youthful style" had been changed. "Hair salon?"

TenTen pushed her on her way. "Go!"

* * *

"I'm sorry... We can't allow you to have that hairstyle." The owner of the store said rather forcibly.

"But I must emulate Guy-sensei's youthfulness!"

"Yes! He must become like his youthful sensei!" Guy pointed at himself with his thumb.

Sakura ran inside, then bugged her eyes out at Guy-sensei. "Holy crap!" She turned to look at Lee, and the hair-stylist. "Lee!" She gave him a blow to the head, then held him in a head-lock. "Sorry! We'll be going now!" She dragged the two of them out, ignoring their protests about youth.

"Lee! Guy-sensei! You can't do that! Harassing a village citizen is not good! It's - Hey Ichita!" She waved to Sasuke.

"Who the heck is that?" He pointed at Guy.

"I am the youthful Guy!" Guy jumped up in a jumping-jack position, only to be smacked by Sakura.

"Holy- It's you!" Sasuke examined him, then whipped his hand at Guy. "Raiton: Elemental Hand!"

Guy became enveloped in yellow light, and he jerked around uncontrollably.

"GUY-SENSEI! YOUR DANCE MOVES ARE SO YOUTHFUL!" Lee imitated Guy's movements.

"Incredible." Sasuke said, shaking his head.

"I know." Sakura sighed.

"I guess you should heal him now."

"Yeah..." Sakura looked down at the twitching Guy, then snapped her head up again. "How did you know I'm a medic nin?"

"Uhh... Kakashi-sensei told me." Sasuke lied. Tsunade was teaching Sakura... Why did that name sound so familiar?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello there, the few people who read this story (or atleast review it). Sorry for not updating for a really long time AGAIN, but as much as I hate to say it, the truth is that I actually have better things to do than fanfiction! If not better, than atleast more entertaining for the time being. Sorry if I made you disappointed or sad T.T  
****On the other hand, to prevent this from happening again, the next story I write will be prewritten so I will only have to upload a chapter weekly instead of writing it one at a time, which is hard and is also the reason why my chapters are so short. For now, enjoy this chapter!  
****Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto at all. Or any other things you might recognize from anything else.**

**Forgotten Memories**

**Chapter 5**

"How are things going, Ichita-kun?"

Sasuke's face lit up. "You won't believe it, Sakura-chan! I actually captured a Chuunin while doing patrols!"

"Really? I can't believe you just started being a ninja a year ago! You're almost as good as me!" Sakura playfully punched Sasuke's shoulder.

"Ow... That hurt..." Sasuke's face turned sullen, then grinned hugely. "Just kidding! I'm a lot stronger now Sakura-chan, you can't hurt me!"

"You idiot." Sakura gave him a blow right to the head, knocking him into the ground and making a small hole in the ground. "I call it the 'Crater Creator'." She smirked proudly.

"Oww... What was that for!" Sasuke lifted his head up just above the dirt and glared at her, which was actually more like squinting.

"Hello there Hag. Dragonballs." Came a monotone voice from the tree tops.

"SAI!" Sakura and Sasuke pounced him from both sides, messing up his ink-black hair, and throwing their legs at him with kicks pulled back at the last second. "I told you not to call me that, Sai." Sasuke pouted.

"But it's true, Dragonballs. Your hair looks exactly like that guy in this new manga." Sai pulled out a manga labelled _Dragon-Ball Z._ "This guy right here. Except your hair is blue and his is yellow, as you can clearly see. It's also very big, Dragonballs."

"What is?"

"Your-"

"SAI!" Sakura used the Crater Creator on Sai with more force than before, with the crater actually reaching where Kakashi was entering the clearing a few yards away. "There are ladies present."

"A hag doesn't count as a lady, Hag." Sai said calmly.

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Kakashi cautioned at a growling Sakura, who immediately turned on her teacher.

"Why did you ask us to come here, sensei?" Sakura spat out angrily.

"Ah ah ah." Kakashi wagged his finger at her, his other hand gripping his _favourite book_ behind his back. "If you're going to be like that, I'm not going to sugar coat it. Speaking of sugar..." Kakashi opened his book. Sai simply closed his eyes, while Sasuke cringed at the sight of the book (he had read one sentence during a practice session while Kakashi wasn't looking.) Sakura used her new signature move for the third time that day, Kakashi's hair flopping down over his face comically when he rose again.

"You ruined my hair." Kakashi said in a tone somewhere between his "Icha-Icha" tone and his "I have a sharigan and I will kill you because you endangered my teammates" tone.

"Just tell us why the hell we're wasting our time here!" Sakura commanded.

"I entered you guys in the Chuunin Exams!" Kakashi's eyes curved into a rainbow-shape that told you he was smiling.

Everyone reacted a bit differently. Sasuke pumped his fist, declaring "All right! I'm going to be a Chuunin!". Sai had almost reaction at all, just smiling a little at Sasuke, as if laughing at him internally. Sakura stayed frozen to the spot.

"So we're going on a camping trip! You're going to train together and try to get a full understanding of eachother's fighting styles. You're going to have to work as a team to survive. Of course, there's the added bonus of me giving you the hardest training you ever had in your life while I enjoy a vacation, of sorts. Come back here in an hour. Go!"

* * *

"Ichita!" Sasuke, alarmed, turned around at the sound of his name, leaving one of Sai's many books on the ground of his tent.

"Shhh! I'm trying to do something here!" He hissed at the pink-haired individual running towards the tent.

"What's that?" Sakura exclaimed excitedly, ignoring him completely as she came inside. She snatched the book up and checked the cover.

"Electronic Manic Supersonic Bionic Energy?" Sakura asked, clearly puzzled.

"Give me that!" Sasuke continuously grabbed at the book, while Sakura swatted them away, absorbed in the book. "_How people express themselves in song lyrics. 'Electronic Manic Supersonic Bionic Energy' might sound like a few scientific rhyming words put together, but in truth it is saying how Love is a very confusing, passionate feeling. Other similar lyrics are: 'Mysteric, Hysteric', 'Loverholic Robotronic', and 'Fantastic, Elastic'. _Fantastic, Elastic?What the hell is this?"

"It's not mine! I swear, it's not mine!" Sasuke repeated desperately. No one would want to be caught with such a weird book. "It's Sai's, I'm serious!"

"I heard my name." Sai appeared behind them, speaking in his toneless voice. "What are you doing with my book?"

"It was him." "It was her."

* * *

"You all have customized training sessions, to improve the areas you need to improve in. Sakura, you're going to expand the amount of jutsu you can use. I'll teach you some, then you practice. Sasuke, you practice walking on water. Sai... You can... Umm..." Kakashi scratched his head. "You don't really need to train for the Chuunin Exams, so spend lots of time with Sasuke and Sakura. Personalities reflect fighting styles, so you go start understanding your teammates. Sakura, come with me."

"Guess I'm spending time with you Dragonballs." Sai turned around.

Sasuke looked around, as if expecting help from the unpopulated woods. "Great."

* * *

"So you said you knew what chakra affinity you have?" Kakashi started.

"Well, I have a pretty good guess."

"And it is?"

"Water Release." With certainty.

"Because?"

"I have the best chakra-control in my generation, and it would make sense if I had water as my chakra affinity, since it's the hardest to control."

"Ah. That makes sense. Let's test it out then." Kakashi handed her the chakra paper. "You know how to use these?"

"I think I can figure it out." The paper drooped over her fingers, dripping water. "I guess that answers your question?"

"And how convenient! We just happen to be right beside a stream!"

"And rocks. And air. And electric energy. And oxygen. Yep, perfect for all chakra types." Sakura's eye twitched. "I'm not stupid."

"Of course not. I'm just in the habit of dumbing it down for Naruto." Kakashi quickly thought of a convincing excuse.

"And he's been gone for how long now-"

"Training begins now!" Sakura really is too clever for her own good.

* * *

"How was your training?" Sasuke asked, exhausted and annoyed.

"When Kakashi-sensei said he was going to 'expand the amount of jutsu I can use', I didn't think that meant learning jutsu from every basic chakra nature." Sakura complained.

"You think that's bad? That's easy. Try having Sai around you all day, watching your every move." Sasuke shuddered.

Kakashi sat down beside them near the fire. "Now what's so bad about that? Sai's just trying to get to know you guys. He needs friends. Besides," he added, "it's not like he's gay."

"Who's gay?" Sai asked as he joined the team, cooking his recently caught fish over the flame. He was wearing a pink apron and wearing pink kitty slippers. The apron had a picture of a white kitten on it, wearing a big red ribbon on one of her ears.

"Never mind then." Kakashi turned his back on everyone and went to read one of Jiraiya's books.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So I was writing this, and unfortunately, I really don't have that much motivation for the story. The only thing that's keeping me going is you guys and my motto that I should finish what I started. Thanks for supporting me guys =) And I think we may get to see our main character in this story...  
****Disclaimer: the act of disclaiming; the renouncing, repudiating, or denying of a claim; disavowal. **

**Forgotten Memories**

**Chapter 5**

"Kakashi-sensei, how much longer are we going to be out in the woods? When are we coming back?" Sasuke asked.

"Not much longer. A week or two. Speaking of which, Sai and Ichita. Could you go to the nearest town and get some more food? We're starting to run out." Kakashi got some coins out of his pocket and dropped it in Sai's outheld hand. Sasuke was already walking away.

"Don't get fish! We can just get those here!" Sakura reminded them.

"Yeah yeah, whatever Sakura-chan." Sasuke waved his hand carelessly at her.

Kakashi and Sakura stared at their backs. Watched Sasuke laugh loudly and put his arms behind his head. Watched Sai walk with an expressionless face. Saw the competitive Sasuke challenge Sai to a game of rock paper scissors, and saw Sai's expression become one of fiery determination.

"Don't they kind of remind you of-" Kakashi started.

"Yeah." Sakura reminisced. "Yeah they do."

* * *

"NO WAY!" Sasuke stared awe-struck at the huge billboard. "That book is being made into a MOVIE?"

Sai walked up beside Sasuke, turned on the heel of his foot, and planted himself infront of the sign. "Isn't that one of Kakashi-sensei's books? The one that he reads while giggling like a girl?"

"The very same." Sasuke shuddered. "I read one line from that book. Just one line..." Sasuke started shaking the confused Sai by the shoulders. "Help me get rid of the horrible images! Take me to rehab or something!"

"Now why would you do that?" An old man with long shaggy hair chuckled from behind Sasuke. "Because my books are so INCREDIBLE!"

"Pervy Sage..." A blond boy about the same age as Sasuke drooped his arms and shoulders into an exasperated position. "Even I'm not that slow..."

"I think we forgot to introduce ourselves!" Jiraiya settled into a pose, arms straight out as if pushing someone away. "I am the Legendary Toad Sage Jiraiya!"

The blond snuck close to them and whispered in their ears. "He's a pervert."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Naruto? If you're going to call me a pervert, atleast get it right. For I am not just a pervert- I'm a SUPER-prevert!" Jiraiya gestured towards the giant sign showcasing his rather inappropriate book. Then he turned to the two dumb-struck boys. "And as fellow ninja of Konoha, I'll trust that you will keep our meeting a secret. Even though you might be tempted to brag about meeting the Legendary Toad Sage." Sai and Sasuke simply stared on.

"Pervy Sage, you should stop trying to cover the sky with your hand." Naruto said wisely, nodding and crossing his arms. He looked very pleased with himself.

"Hey Dickless." Sai raised a finger. "That proverb isn't even Japanese."

"Who are you calling Dickless?" Naruto swiped at Sai, who ducked and kicked out at Naruto's ankles.

"Hey hey, no fighting." Jiraiya cautioned.

"Sai, you should stop..." Sasuke started, then paled when Sai drew out his short, sword-like weapon. Jiraiya peered closely at the tanto, then turned to Sai.

"So you're ROOT? Forgive me for this." Jiraiya thrust his finger at a pressure point on Sai's neck, knocking him out. Sasuke slowly drew out his own sword, sliding into a defense stance. "Hey, you're not ROOT too, are you?"

"I don't even know what that is. But you've caused harm to my teammate, and those who ignore their teammates and friends are worse than scum." Sasuke recited with a grim face. He could never win against someone who could defeat Sai so easily.

Naruto stiffened at the words, and stared wide eyed. Jiraiya reacted quickly, striking out and Sasuke fell unconscious, his expression frozen on his face.

"Let's take this one with us." Jiraiya indicated Sasuke. "I'll just leave a note on this guy and we can hide him somewhere where the rest of the team can find him." Naruto nodded mutely, and quietly picked up Sasuke.

* * *

"Sai! Ichita!" Sakura ran through the streets of the quiet town. They should've been back hours ago. Not even an ordinary citizen would take this long. Not unless something bad happened... Sakura shook her head. No, they were fine. Probably they got into a fight, Ichita splitting off, and then... And then what? "Ichita! Sai!"

On the other side of town, Kakashi was looking for his two students when a billboard caught his eye. "A movie!" He studied it examining every single part of it, until he found a bunch of circled numbers next to the words "Icha-Icha Paradise. The beginning."

Kakashi flipped through the pages of the orange book. He had used this code with Jiraiya before. "Took... the... boy... other... one... can... be... found... near... the... sign... Jiraiya... WHAT!" Kakashi desperately searched for the "other one", not knowing which boy he would find. He found his unconscious pupil in a tree with thousands of thick leaves, right across the sidewalk. "Sai." Kakashi breathed. He found a note taped onto Sai's sleeve. It read, "Sorry I kind of kidnapped your student. Surely you knew who he was? We could tell, just by looking at his frown. Jiraiya."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short. I think it should be mentioned that from now on, I'm going to have my author's note down here instead of up there, because I think sometimes when I write really long author's notes, it annoys a few of you, especially if you're one of the people who don't bother with the notes and just want to read the story. Also, I can talk about the story without giving any spoilers and I can explain myself. For example...**

**Yes, it is possible to discern whether someone is ANBU ROOT or not by their tanto! According to Narutopedia, the ANBU ROOT have their tantos made in a specific style: "The version Root uses are double-edged and have no tip". If it's wrong, then I'm sorry, but I actually trust Narutopedia, because everything single thing I've read on there seems to be true.**

**Thank you for reading my story, and wait for my next chapter patiently please!**


	7. Chapter 7

Forgotten Memories

Chapter 6

* * *

Sasuke woke up to the sound of dripping water. It was a terrifyingly familiar sound, and Sasuke snapped his eyes open to see he was in a dark, damp cave. _I'm not back in that hellhole, am I?_

He shook his head. _What hellhole? What am I talking about? I've never been anywhere that's bad. All this time I've been so happy..._ His thoughts trailed off when he saw a light coming towards him.

"You're awake." The person holding the lantern said.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Sasuke stuck out his hand and tried to look as friendly as he could. "I'm Ichita, by the way."

Then all of sudden, Sasuke was lying down on the wet rock, the blond-haired stranger on top of him. His back hurt from where he had landed, and there was a throbbing pain in his head. The blond grabbed at Sasuke's shirt with his fists. "Hey, what was that for-"

"How dare you come back to Konoha without apologizing? Taking up a fake name and changing how you look just so you won't get in trouble, you bast-"

"Come back to Konoha?" Sasuke coughed. Blood started leaking out of his mouth. "I think you have the wrong guy. I've lived in Konoha for as long as I remember." _Which isn't very long._ Sasuke reminded himself. _Did I know this guy a long time ago?_The boy punched Sasuke in the face. "Don't lie to me! You said yourself that I was the one who was closest to you!"

And because Sasuke really wasn't thinking clearly and he had taken a few whacks to the head already, he didn't even think when he answered Naruto. "The only reason I didn't kill you is because I didn't want to be like my brother."

They froze. As still as marble statues.

Then Naruto started shaking, almost vibrating, barely containing his anger. A growling sound came from low in his throat, gradually increasing in volume.

Sasuke stayed still, his mind racing. _What did I just say! This guy was my best friend or something? Why would I want to kill him? And I didn't know I had a brother! What does he have to do with anything anyways?_

"Everything in your life revolves around your stupid brother!" Naruto snarled. Sasuke swore he saw a red gel-like thing oozing out of the jinchuuriki's pores and swirling around him, like a cloak, almost. "Why does he matter so much? He killed the rest of your family, so what? The freaking FOURTH HOKAGE sealed some DEMON inside me! EVERYONE in the entire VILLAGE hated me! You think you have something to complain about? When the entire village calls you a genius and the older ninja protect you and look after you and pity you because you freaking WHINE all the time about how your brother murdered your beloved family?"

Sasuke never recalled being so scared his entire life. Even as his memories slowly came back to him, scene by traumatizing scene, from Naruto's words.

Look, a man with raven-black hair tied in a low ponytail. His brother, he now realized, named Itachi. There was a little girl, who looked remarkably like Sakura, down to the bright pink hair. A little boy, blond like the stranger, crying in the middle of a street of a slightly older Konoha. A fan, half red and half white, surrounded by dark blue. Zooming out, Sasuke could now see the symbol in a mirror. A mirror in his own room, with his own reflection in it. But not like any reflection of himself he had ever seen himself before. The boy was small and thin, with hair the same dark blue colour that surrounded the fan. The hairstyle itself was very peculiar, almost as peculiar as his hair was _now_. _Sai, _Sasuke thought absently, _would've called this boy 'Chicken Butt'. Sakura would pet his hair, saying that he's adorable._ And before he could even think about Kakashi-sensei, a picture drifted through his mind. Kakashi-sensei resting his hands on the heads of two glaring boys, one dark-haired and the other had golden hair. They clearly had a grudge or a rivalry going on between them. Separating the two boys was a younger version of Sakura. She looked happier than she was now, and more rested. Her hair was longer too, almost reaching her waist. _She did that because of me_, the thought jumping out at him. I liked girls with longer hair back then...

And then every single detail of his life was suddenly revealed to him. Ino and all the other girls who always fawned after him. The one girl who didn't, the Hyuuga named Hinata. The boys who envied him, for various reasons. The boys who hated him and the boys who really didn't care about him and ignored him. Every memory, except for the murder of his family. However, he recovered a memory that he never knew he had, because he had twisted it so severely with his own hate and with the help of some genjutsu.

_"Sorry, little brother. It's for the best. Our clan is a murderous clan, with violent thoughts and greedy ambitions. You don't know war, not the way I do. Murder is better than war. In war, they are much more cruel and yet somehow everything is justified."_

His own awful pride and arrogance that changed it to "_Sorry, foolish little brother. It's for the best. Our clan was too terrible to be allowed to live. You don't know hate, not the way I do. Grow up to hate me brother, just like our stupid clan hated everyone else. Grow up to kill me and become a hero, winning wars for this horrible village of Konoha. Live with hate, and you can be as cruel to me as you can be. Live with hate, and somehow everything will be justified for you."_

The very many times he'd snubbed Naruto, called him untalented and stupid. How could hate make something like that justified?

"Kami." Sasuke breathed, finally looking at Naruto after staring into his memories for so long. "I'm so sorry, dobe."

* * *

Sakura stared at a picture of her new team. She'd showed it to so many people, hoping that they'd seen the boy with the ostentious turquiose hair. She stared at Ichita for a long time, looking at his every feature. His hair first, obviously. His pitch-black eyes, that looked like they had no pupil. Or perhaps it was all pupil and he had no iris. She studied his face for a long time, forcing herself to remember every detail even though if she didn't, she'd still recognize him anywhere. Her gaze traveled down to his neck. He had a little bit of ink, it looked like, on the left side of his neck. She smudged that part of the photo with her thumb. Strange, it's not coming off. Then maybe Ichita had a tattoo there. She hadn't ever noticed, though. Right then a suspicion filled her thoughts, remembering that a certain Uchiha member had a mark right in that spot, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, it wouldn't go away. So she desperately searched every space in her house, looking for every picture she could find with Ichita in it.

After many hours, Sakura finally found the picture that confirmed her fears. A picture she had took of herself, with unknowing Ichita having his back turned to the camera. And right there! On his neck. A horribly familiar sight. Something that had once given her an excuse to hug a certain Uchiha. The stupid mark that had changed her life forever. Changed Naruto's life.

Changed Sasuke's life. Not Ichita. Sasuke. How could they ever have not noticed? The name even: switch around a few letters and you got the name _Itachi_ right there. How could they be so blind?

_Liar! That stupid idiot! Coming back to Konoha undercover! I bet he was spying for Orochimaru, that bastard..._

* * *

**A/N: So, how was it? This chapter was pretty hard to write, because to be honest, I had no idea what to write about! I'm happy with what I came up with, and hopefully you are too. Yes, I realize the beginning is a little rushed, and things happen way too quickly, but I tried. And now I have to figure out what to write next... don't expect a new chapter too soon, but I'll really try my best to think of a good plot.**

**~LadyEirys**


	8. Chapter 8

Sasuke woke up in the cave again, except it was considerably lighter this time, and there was no dripping of water. He had also been moved closer to the entrance, and if he strained hard enough he could see the shining constellations. If he had looked farther, he would've caught a glimpse of white hair almost as bright as the stars themselves, just outside the mouth of the cave. But he was too struck by the night sky. It was amazing how complicated his life had been before his memory loss. So complicated that he never even noticed the beauty of his everyday world, even if it was right infront of him. Almost as if it was invisible to him, and he had gained the ability to see it and appreciate it just now.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Sasuke listened to his surroundings. Not silent like he first thought it was, but with little noises, noises people would overlook if not specifically paying attention to it. And even those sounds had a certain charm to it if you thought about it. The harmony of crickets chiriping was often considered annoying, but if you dwelled on it, there's nothing you can do but marvel how they even make such a peaceful tune. Sasuke's thoughts were so deep and his feelings so peaceful, he felt like he was being absorbed into this new world and he never wanted to leave.

Snoring broke the peaceful atmosphere, interrupting Sasuke and bringing him back into our own world. He lifted his head up and saw Naruto leaning against the cave wall, mouth dangling open. He dropped his head back onto the ground, only realizing just then that he had a pillow, when he also noticed that he was looking up at a tall figure with Christmas-coloured clothes who was staring right back at him.

"I hope you've learned a lesson, kid. Naruto over there was staying up as long as he could, in the hopes that he could see his friend wake up. And not just any friend, but a friend he's been angry at for more than a year. I doubt that you would've even gone to your friend's bedside if he was dying from what I've heard of you." The Sannin's eyes seemed to spear Sasuke down to the floor. "I don't like you that much, kid. You remind me too much of Orochimaru. Because thanks to you, Naruto and Sakura are going through what Tsunade and I had to deal with."

For a second, Sasuke didn't respond. Then one final memory resurfaced. "I remember when Itachi told me about the Sannin. He said that it was a shame that all of them were out of the village, because there was one thing he had time to teach me, if only they were there to help him teach it. Then when the rest of my family were murdered, he taught me, even without you guys. He said that it would be the most important thing I would ever learn, and that I should never forget it. He told me that the Sannin were a perfect example of what happens when you abandon your friends, and that even the most closely-knit team can fall apart because of one person. He also told me that in both cases the fault went to Orochimaru, and to not be like him. But I never remembered that he told me that." He closed his eyes. "I guess that's why my life is so messed up."

"I guess so." Jiraiya agreed, and Sasuke instantly fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sasuke went on a journey that would almost certainly cause the deaths of them all: they came back to Konoha. At first, Sasuke felt extremely awkward and guilty being with a friend he had betrayed, but Naruto had already forgiven him with that simple sincere apology two nights before. So Naruto treated Sasuke as if they were best friends and had always been that way. Sasuke had been shocked at discovering just how caring the boy was, but he was grateful too. He didn't miss the smile that flashed across Jiraiya's face, so he smiled back when Naruto caught on, and soon they were all grinning like maniacs, internally laughing at the odd inside joke that had just formed between them. That got rid of any remaining awkwardness effectively.

Later, while Jiraiya lecturing on Naruto, Sasuke decided it was a bit rude to eavesdrop and switched to observing his environment. There was hidden beauty here too. The different shades of green scattered among the brown, and the wild nature of it all. The branches beneath them swayed smoothly, and the branches above them ruffled softly. The running itself had a relaxing rhythm to it.

When he got to Konoha, he would have to learn some genjutsu. He wondered if genjutsu could influence the way a person interpreted their environment, not just changing it. That way he could share this new way of seeing the world! He wondered if that could even become a weapon. A genjutsu that was so subtle no one would realize it was a genjutsu, and once caught in it, they wouldn't want to leave. Much easier than an obvious, forceful genjutsu where the victim was constantly struggling against it. Yeah, he would have to do some research on genjutsu.

* * *

They arrived at the gate, but not before Jiraiya placed a genjutsu to make Sasuke look like "Ichita" again (apparently the hairstyle only lasted as long as Sasuke thought he was Ichita. Kabuto has some odd things lying around).

"Hey, it's Naruto!" Kotetsu waved, then saluted Jiraiya. "And you guys brought Ichita! Good! Kakashi was getting worried about you kid."

Sasuke felt Jiraiya slowly peeling away the genjutsu, then calmly took in the looks of shock and horror (with a slight undertone of triumph/happiness/relief/thankfulness - there really is no one word to describe it - of Sasuke coming back, but he missed it). _The shock would've been there anyways, but I guess I kind of deserved the horror._

"The kid only just found out yesterday himself." Jiraiya explained softly.

_I am getting really tired of being called kid,_ Sasuke mused, _though I should be grateful I'm not getting called something worse._

In the end, they were granted entrance. While Naruto and Jiraiya went around town reuniting with friends (and sadly, not family), Sasuke went to the top of Hokage Mountain, to see how the village looked like from his new perspective. It took less than a minute for him to get lost in his "Hidden Beauty" world, where he lay undisturbed.

Then Sakura and Kakashi pounced on him.

It was not nearly as horrific as Sasuke thought being attacked by them would be, even though it still hurt a lot and he was sure that he would be black and blue later. Not the broken bones he'd been expecting. Kakashi was tickling him (making him defenseless but atleast it wasn't painful), and at the same time he was keeping Sakura from doing lasting harm. He appreciated it, even though he knew it meant that Kakashi was not angry at him, and if he wasn't angry at him then he must have some idea of what was going on.

Though to be honest, he really had no idea as to why Sakura was so furious. Of course she would be pissed at him, but after hearing of the search efforts Naruto and Sakura had pulled off, he thought that if he came back Sakura would be happy. But here she was screaming in her shrill voice and pounding away at his skull like she wanted to smash it into the ground. She probably would've if it weren't for Kakashi, and again Sasuke was grateful.

Then all of a sudden Sakura had been pulled off of him onto her feet and she was staring at something behind him. Whoever was behind Sasuke, she was staring at him like he was an angel come to Earth.

"Naruto." The word slipped from her mouth. _Oh, that makes sense. She wasn't expecting them to come back for a few more years. _Sasuke thought. _And in this case I guess Naruto really is being like an angel. Kinda like an guardian angel._

"No messing with Sasuke." Naruto growled, then abruptly beamed at Sasuke who grinned back.

"He's my brother." The two said as one.

* * *

**I was going to upload this earlier (which is sadly, yesterday), but my internet was not working last night for some strange reason, so it is uploaded today. I feel really bad that I don't update this sooner like I say in all my other author-notes, but it feels worth repeating. Thanks for continuing to read this. I probably would've abandoned this a long time ago before if it weren't for you guys.**


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